A field without Spieth and a course with few teeth make the Sony Open in Hawaii wide open even after Thursday’s first round. It concluded with a dead calm over Waialae Country Club, a deadlock at the top, and 19 players within two strokes of the lead.

That blustery wind that used to keep the Kahala layout from being pillaged by all of the PGA Tour pros on their annual stop here was nearly non-existent. More red numbers were produced than at the New York Stock Exchange this week.

And Jordan Spieth — who simply dominated the proceedings from start to finish at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Maui — enjoyed a Coke and a smile while resting up for next week’s tournament in Abu Dhabi.

As Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker finished up their first 18 holes at a little bit after 5 p.m., the flags weren’t flapping much at all. The wind was measured at a meager 2.2 mph, and it helped them both fashion 7-under 63s that put them in a five-way tie for first.

Weather advantage

Playing in the morning here used to be considered a distinct advantage. But that wasn’t really in play for the first round, and some golfers even spoke of a challenging breeze as they closed out their play in the a.m.

“The finishing holes were tough,” said Sean O’Hair, who shot 5 under in the morning and finished the day tied for ninth with 11 other golfers. “You kind of had to flight your tee shots as opposed to on the front nine, (where) it just felt like you could fire away. There wasn’t much thought involved.”

If there’s a reversion to what used to be the normal pattern today, Kisner and Snedeker could be ahead of the game. It will be their turn for early tee times and the other three players tied for the lead — Ricky Barnes, Morgan Hoffmann and Vijay Singh — start after lunch.

Barnes said the lack of a breeze allowed him to be aggressive.

“If you’re in the fairway out here and there’s not much wind, there’s not much guessing when you get to a shot,” said Barnes, who is off to a solid start with two top-25 places in his first five events of this season. “I just feel like you should be comfortable. You’re not playing into a lot of crosswinds. And the greens aren’t too slopy. When in doubt, be under the pin, and you can hit an aggressive point. And case in point I did that on 18 (where he birdied to complete the round).”

Hawaii ties

Tony Finau was among the jam of 11 tied for ninth at 5-under 65. Finau, whose gallery included some friends and family from the North Shore, battled back with birdies on his last two holes after nearly ruining a fine round with a double bogey on No. 6 (his 15th hole of the round); he had to punch a lateral shot back onto the fairway after nestling his drive by an ivy-covered fence on the left.

The first PGA Tour pro of Samoan and Tongan ethnicity has a lot of work to do if he is to become the first Polynesian to win this event since Hawaiian Ted Makalena did it 50 years ago.

Finau starts at 8:10 a.m. today. He, along with Snedeker and Kisner, will be done way before 2 p.m., when forecasts predict the highest chance of rain for the day, 33 percent. Barnes, Singh, Hoffmann and the other contenders playing in the afternoon might not be as fortunate.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/ quick-readsTHIS IS PLACEHOLDER TEXT